A postage meter typically includes a printer to print postage indicia on a mail piece and a so-called vault for securely holding the postage meter funds. Ascending and descending registers are provided within the vault to record total postage meter usage and remaining funds, respectively. The vault is securely connected to the printer so that any use of the meter to print postage will be added to the ascending register to increase the record of total life cycle meter usage and will be charged against the descending register to reduce the amount of available funds remaining. The vault is recharged in a known manner, as by being taken to authorized postal authorities to have the descending register reset to reflect a corresponding payment.
Extensive effort has heretofore been made to ensure the security of the postal funds within the vault. Thus, many alternative vault recharging systems have been proposed and extensive efforts have been directed at ensuring that postage cannot be fraudulently or accidentally printed without being charged to the ascending and descending registers within the vault. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,011 entitled "Coupon Controlled Metering Device," U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,871 entitled "Electronic Postage Meter System Settable By Means of a Remotely Generated Input Device," United Kingdom Pat. No. 2,173,738A entitled "Secure Transport of Information Between Electronic Stations," Japanese patent disclosure Nos. 1986-[Showa-61]-240,360 and 1986-[Showa 61]-240,369 both entitled "Postage Processing Machine," and Japanese public disclosure no. 172493/1987 entitled "Mail Charge Processing Apparatus." However, no significant effort has heretofore been directed to accounting for postage meter use other than to provide the cumulative information recorded in the ascending and descending meter registers as to total life cycle meter usage and available funds remaining. Thus, where a single postage meter is used by several persons or departments there is no convenient method of accurately accounting for meter usage for internal accounting purposes.
A proposed system for controlling a network of postage meters is disclosed in European Patent Application No. 86108929.0 of SMH Alcatel Ltd. entitled "Process and System for Controlling Postage Meters," published Jan. 7, 1987 under publication No. 0,207,492. The SMH Alcatel System provides an indication of total usage and funds remaining in the vault but does not appear to be capable of providing a more detailed analysis of meter usage. In addition, the SMH Alcatel System cannot readily be retrofitted to existing postage meters. In short, the SMH Alcatel system does not provide a satisfactory postage meter accounting system. Similar systems are disclosed in some of the previously mentioned British and Japanese patent disclosure documents. A similar system not involving use of integrated circuit cards is disclosed in an SMH Alcatel European Patent Application No. 86108930.8 published on Jan. 14, 1987 under Publication No. 0,208,231 entitled "Remote Control System for Postage Meters."
Therefore, it is one object of the present invention to provide a convenient postal charge accounting system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a convenient postal charge accounting system which can be used in conjunction with the existing security features of an electronic postage meter.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a postal charge accounting system which may be retrofitted to existing electronic postage meters in the field.
Another object of the invention is to provide a postal charge accounting system which provides detailed departmental accounting.
These and other highly desirable objects and advantages are obtained in the convenient yet secure postal charge accounting system according to the present invention.
Objects and advantages of the invention are set forth in part herein and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.